People

Steve Leonard is an adventurer and veterinary surgeon based in Cheshire, England. A well-known TV personality in the UK, Steve is a well-rounded investigator for The Beast Seekers and one who can be thrown into the deep end in any situation. Steve is an experienced trekker, mountain climber, scuba diver and skydiver who has traveled the world.

He has made several popular wildlife series for the BBC including Steve Leonard’s Ultimate Killers, Steve Leonard’s Extreme Animals, Animal Camera, Journey of Life, Incredible Animal Journeys and Orangutan Diaries. His television work has taken him into difficult terrain and challenging situations.

Francis Manapul is a Canadian comic book artist whose work has been featured in DC Comics, Adventure Comics, Superman and Batman. His most recent assignment has him illustrating the re-launch of the FLASH comic books. Released in April 2010, the books have been flying off the shelves. He is well known in the comic book world and is sought after to attend comic book signing conventions that take place all over the globe.

Born in the Philippines and now living in Toronto, Francis is embedded in pop culture and brings his youthful energy to the Beast Seekers. He can sketch any beast in five minutes flat and rapidly visualizes creature descriptions. As a field artist, he provides the bridge between the science and the fantasy: he’s the midwife to the beast being born in animation.

Scott Edwardsis Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University as well as Curator of Ornithology at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. He grew up in the Bronx and has been fascinated with animals since he was a boy. He completed a zoology degree at Harvard and a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Scott has a rare mix of stellar scientific credentials and an ability to speak enthusiastically and engagingly in everyday language. He has the expertise to discuss both prehistoric animals and their modern day descendents.

Kathryn Denning is a legend expert, an anthropologist, archaeologist and Associate Professor at Toronto’s York University. She studies and teaches everything from human evolution to our relationship with animals and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Kathryn can talk with ease about the history and mythology behind our beasts and their roles in different cultures. She is comfortable sourcing ancient texts, interviewing scientists and local villagers alike. Kathryn has an adventurous spirit, whether it’s scuba diving with sharks or donning an astronaut’s suit for a 2-week stay at a Mars simulation site in Utah.